Clock Test not enough? And, driving...

[savoysuit]

My grandmother who lives near us is 80 and passed a test today that's required in order to continue having a drivers license at that age.

She has so many if not all the symptoms of dementia:

-very little short term memory, thinking family members are other people (this comes and goes), outbursts, difficulty finding familiar locations and getting lost, etc. This has been going on for a while (the memory stuff for years) and is only getting worse over time.

So at the test, she passes the clock test, but had no idea why she was at the driver facility (leaving the room several times to ask what was happening), and a few minutes after having taken the test didn't remember having done it (even saying nobody have given her a paper to do it). She has no idea now why she was there earlier today, but is happy to still have a driving permit (we are not)

She flat out refuses to see a doctor about anything (believes they're all dangerous), so diagnosing anything is impossible.... we had been hoping this standard test would reveal something, but somehow she passed.

So... basically this is my question: Can you pass the clock test and still have dementia? Thanks!

 

[northumbrian_k]

Hi @savoysuit and welcome to our supportive and friendly community. I am sorry to hear about your grandmother. I well remember when my wife was unable to draw a clock at her GP appointment. It was not definitive diagnostically but sufficiently indicative of dementia to warrant further investigation.

Likewise, being able to pass the clock test is not sufficient to say that a person does not have dementia. To some extent that isn't material to the driving question. All of the signs and symptoms you describe do raise in my mind whether she is indeed fit to drive.

I am not sure whether this helps you.

 

[nitram]

You only have to take a test if you enter something indicating a problem on the D46P form they send you every 3 years, there is not an upper age limit, you can also do it online.

The DVLA test is usually far more than the clock test and based on

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1084397/assessing-fitness-to-drive-may-2022.pdf

Some of your post makes me wonder if are in the UK.

 

[savoysuit]

Some of your post makes me wonder if are in the UK.

Sorry no, I'm in Canada! (Ontario)

 

[savoysuit]

I am not sure whether this helps you.

Thank you for the response. Well, the confusing thing is she displays some symptoms of advanced dementia (thinking close family members are other people at times, thinking others are staying in the house and stealing, not knowing where she is occasionally - like today at the test)... but at other times she manages in terms of daily things like getting dressed. I don't think she would manage completely on her own though.
As we can't get an official diagnosis right now, we sometimes wonder if it's actually dementia... thought it checks all the boxes, except for this clock test.

 

[SeaSwallow]

We cannot diagnose here on Talking Point but certainly some of the symptoms that you describe can be found in people with dementia.
As others have said I do think that your grandmother should not be driving. I find it hard to understand why just because she passed the clock test that she was deemed safe to drive, did the testers not realise how confused she was?
I think that it might be a good idea for someone to speak to her doctor about your concerns. You would not want her to have a car accident and hurt herself or others.
It is hard for people with dementia to give up driving but sometimes necessary.

 

[canary]

As we can't get an official diagnosis right now, we sometimes wonder if it's actually dementia... thought it checks all the boxes, except for this clock test.

You cant be sure whether or not its dementia until theyve had all the tests - including an MRI

The clock test is only one part of one of the tests. It is testing spaciel awareness and perception. Which ability is lost depends very much on which part of the brain is affected. With Lewy Body Dementia and Posterior Cortical Atrophy (both of which start in the part of the brain that deal with vision and perception) the clock test is usually an early indicator, but with other forms of dementia that start in other parts of the brain it may not be lost until the dementia is quite advanced.

So, to answer your question - yes, it is quite possible to have dementia and still pass the clock test.

 

[savoysuit]

As others have said I do think that your grandmother should not be driving. I find it hard to understand why just because she passed the clock test that she was deemed safe to drive, did the testers not realise how confused she was?
I think that it might be a good idea for someone to speak to her doctor about your concerns. You would not want her to have a car accident and hurt herself or others.

We will do most of the driving for her, except maybe for some simple local trips.
We've talked with her doctor, who would like to evaluate her - but she won't go see him or any doctor.

At the driver testing, the person in charge there couldn't care less - even though it was quite obvious she was behaving differently from everyone else. If she passed the clock test, good to go.

 

[savoysuit]

So, to answer your question - yes, it is quite possible to have dementia and still pass the clock test.

Thank you - that's reassuring in a way, and would make sense. We can't get her diagnosed these days unfortunately, so are relying on our own research.

 

[MrCanuck]

Its also possible to fail that clock test and still get your license renewed. My mother went for her driver license renewal and came out laughing. I asked what was so funny, and she said that part of the test was to draw a clock and she couldn't do it! "Isn't that crazy" she told me. But she still got her license renewed. At that time I had no idea what the clock test was, nor did I even suspect my mother had any cognitive issues so I told her to take these things more seriously.

As I later looked back, that was the first red flag. 10 months later she was needing assisting living.